CCT205: Digital Innovation and Cultural Transformation
Prof Gail Benick and Mike Jones
5 February 2009
Funding for Black-Focused School vs. No Funding for Faith-Based Schools
In my opinion, growing up in the Christian School system was rewarding in many ways. Although the experience was worthwhile for me, my parents struggled financially at times with the decision to keep me at my private Christian school. It is often beyond reason why some people have to pay extraordinary amounts of money just to receive the education that is entitled to us as Canadian citizens. Beyond everything, a faith-based school’s number one focus is to equip youth with the knowledge and maturity to face the world. This purpose and goal of faith-based schools is very similar to the premise of the newly approved black-focused ‘Africentric’ school in Toronto. “It has been a lightning rod for racial debate in Toronto for more than a decade, since Ontario's Royal Commission on Learning in 1995 suggested a black-focused school might help stem the higher dropout rate among black students, often blamed on a curriculum that overlooks their heritage and teachers who don't reflect their diversity” (“Boards Okay” par 30). “The new institution is supposed to start taking students in September 2009 and will be open to all races. There's still no word on where it will be located, exactly what its specific curriculum will be - or even if it will wind up as an elementary school or a high school” (“Black-focused School” par 8).
However, not everyone is excited about this new school. Some people view this is as an unprecedented “step back towards racial segregation” (“Boards Okay” par 19) that Martin Luther King and Malcolm X fought to redeem. A particularly powerful voice of antithesis is that of Loreen Small, whose son was shot in 2007. “She told the trustees that she opposed the plan, calling a black school ‘segregated’. Small said students of all races should be taught together and that the emphasis should be on helping teachers engage with the students” (“Toronto School” par 3). Another point of opposition, in which the planned black-focused school shares a similar concern with faith-based schools, is the matter of cost. For the one black-focused school, the “estimated start-up costs of $350,000… and the entire package of initiatives carries an estimated price tag of $820,000: (“Board’s Okay” par 6-7). This figure can be compared to the perceived cost of funding the hundreds of faith-based schools throughout Ontario, “the province's private religious schools in the public system would cost an extra $400 million each year” (“Tory vows” par 4). This is a huge number, but it encompasses many schools and students to support: Tory says “about 53,000 Ontario students attend private religious schools, and they deserve the same support as students in the province's publicly funded Catholic schools” (“Tory Vows” par 8).
The proposed and approved Africentric school, set to open in September 2009 (“Boards Okay” par 5), is based on the fundamental beliefs of African-American parents that their children should be taught their own history: "Many students say they would do better if they learned about their heritage; who knows about Mathieu da Costa, (a navigator of African descent) who came to Canada in 1603 as a translator in Champlain's expeditions” (“Boards Okay” par 18)? Another fundamental goal is to keep black children and teenagers off the street, out of jail, and in the schoolroom; it is “aimed at tackling the high dropout rate among black youth in Toronto which runs as high as 40 percent” (“Toronto School” par 1). On top of launching the black-focused school, other initiatives have been taken into consideration: launching an action plan to help all black students do better, starting three pilot programs in regular schools where subjects would be taught from an Africentric perspective, and working with York University and community agencies to establish a centre of research on how to close the learning gap between black children and their peers of other backgrounds (“Board Okays” par 26-28).
The insistence on a differing ‘Africentric’ curriculum and teachers, demonstrates the creators desire for more control. They are unhappy with the curriculum that the government has chosen for them, and therefore, want to add to it or create their own. This reasoning for a school is really not that oppositional from the perspective of faith-based schools. From my experience in a private Christian school, our curriculum was not that much different than that of my friends in a public school. “The curriculum in different Christian schools can vary wildly. For example, some Christian schools will teach a Creationist viewpoint of origins; others might teach children about dinosaurs and Darwin while emphasizing the rule of God” (“Christian Private Schools” par 6). We also had the opportunity to pray in school and attend chapel weekly. How is this any different than what occurs in the already funded Catholic School System? There may be other more extreme differences of curriculum in other faith-based schools, but there still remain elements of the same basic curriculum.
Each province is able to make their own decision on whether or not to provide funding for faith-based schools; it is certain that some people in Toronto would agree with my point of view that Ontario should follow the example of British Columbia: “whether Catholic, Jewish, evangelical Christian, Muslim, Sikh -- even a Mormon offshoot practicing polygamy -- all groups with schools in B.C. have the right to partial government funding to promote their own religious, cultural, philosophical or pedagogical views in the classroom… B.C. governments have long held that such funding is in keeping with the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. The rules are simple: Schools may not teach racial or ethnic superiority, religious intolerance or violence, and they must deliver the B.C. curriculum if they want funding. (“Faith-Based Schools” par 2-4).
In 2007, politician John Tory took a stand for faith-based school funding: “a Conservative government would move to provide public funding for Ontario's private Islamic, Jewish, Christian and Hindu schools if elected this fall” (“Tory Vows” par 1). However, hardly any other politicians of the time agreed with him: Liberal Premier Dalton McGuinty, a staunch supporter of the Catholic system, was against that – as was NDP Leader Howard Hampton. Green Leader Frank de Jong would end all funding of religious schools and have one secular public system with mandatory world religion classes to promote tolerance (“Voters Divided” par 5). The opposing view is due to the high cost of funding and the possible repercussions that if one school can slightly change its curriculum, why can’t other schools do the same?
In the end, the argument over whether or not faith-based schools should be government funded ultimately funnels down to the issue of private versus public schooling. The differences between these two entities are not that widespread. A public school means that anyone can attend this school because it is their fundamental right as a Canadian citizen to receive a secondary education; whereas in a private school, the school board has the right to refuse a student from attending. The announced black-focused school will be public, in that any person of differing ethnicity can attend, but they will have to cooperate with the differing curriculum and possible teaching styles. In a faith-based school privatizing would make perfect sense, only those that believe in the religion would be able to attend; and if they were to be made public, it would enable others to cause possible disruption. For example, speaking from personal experience, my school had an interview process before admission. In this interview, my parents and I had to sign a paper saying that we belong to a church and that I will not engage in inappropriate behaviour (i.e.: drugs or alcohol abuse, violence); if my family left the church or if I betrayed my commitment to not engage in set behaviour, I could be expelled. To many, this is a definite “con” towards the private faith-based schooling. But could not the same problem occur in the black-focused school? What would happen if a white person were to come into the school and not comply with the ‘Africentric’ curriculum and style?
Although there has been much talk about the upcoming school since January 2008, in recent news concerning the Toronto black-focused school, it is not likely to open in September 2009 due to the underwhelming response of parents during a recent meeting. Also furthering this dubious outlook is the lack of student enrollment: as of January 2009, only fifteen students had enrolled (“Board Tight-Lipped” par 2). In regards to the fight for faith-based schools, John Tory did not defeat Dalton McGuinty in October 2007, and therefore, was unable to implement his promise of funding. John Tory recently stated that the “book is closed” (“Book Closed” par 1) on the topic of faith-based school funding due to his continual losses. Conclusively, neither of these arguments have a definite ending or a probable solution to the concerns of fairness and equality at hand.
Individual Research Assignment:
CCT205: Digital Innovation and Cultural Transformation
Prof Gail Benick and Mike Jones
5 February 2009
Funding for Black-Focused School vs. No Funding for Faith-Based Schools
In my opinion, growing up in the Christian School system was rewarding in many ways. Although the experience was worthwhile for me, my parents struggled financially at times with the decision to keep me at my private Christian school. It is often beyond reason why some people have to pay extraordinary amounts of money just to receive the education that is entitled to us as Canadian citizens. Beyond everything, a faith-based school’s number one focus is to equip youth with the knowledge and maturity to face the world. This purpose and goal of faith-based schools is very similar to the premise of the newly approved black-focused ‘Africentric’ school in Toronto. “It has been a lightning rod for racial debate in Toronto for more than a decade, since Ontario's Royal Commission on Learning in 1995 suggested a black-focused school might help stem the higher dropout rate among black students, often blamed on a curriculum that overlooks their heritage and teachers who don't reflect their diversity” (“Boards Okay” par 30). “The new institution is supposed to start taking students in September 2009 and will be open to all races. There's still no word on where it will be located, exactly what its specific curriculum will be - or even if it will wind up as an elementary school or a high school” (“Black-focused School” par 8).
However, not everyone is excited about this new school. Some people view this is as an unprecedented “step back towards racial segregation” (“Boards Okay” par 19) that Martin Luther King and Malcolm X fought to redeem. A particularly powerful voice of antithesis is that of Loreen Small, whose son was shot in 2007. “She told the trustees that she opposed the plan, calling a black school ‘segregated’. Small said students of all races should be taught together and that the emphasis should be on helping teachers engage with the students” (“Toronto School” par 3). Another point of opposition, in which the planned black-focused school shares a similar concern with faith-based schools, is the matter of cost. For the one black-focused school, the “estimated start-up costs of $350,000… and the entire package of initiatives carries an estimated price tag of $820,000: (“Board’s Okay” par 6-7). This figure can be compared to the perceived cost of funding the hundreds of faith-based schools throughout Ontario, “the province's private religious schools in the public system would cost an extra $400 million each year” (“Tory vows” par 4). This is a huge number, but it encompasses many schools and students to support: Tory says “about 53,000 Ontario students attend private religious schools, and they deserve the same support as students in the province's publicly funded Catholic schools” (“Tory Vows” par 8).
The proposed and approved Africentric school, set to open in September 2009 (“Boards Okay” par 5), is based on the fundamental beliefs of African-American parents that their children should be taught their own history: "Many students say they would do better if they learned about their heritage; who knows about Mathieu da Costa, (a navigator of African descent) who came to Canada in 1603 as a translator in Champlain's expeditions” (“Boards Okay” par 18)? Another fundamental goal is to keep black children and teenagers off the street, out of jail, and in the schoolroom; it is “aimed at tackling the high dropout rate among black youth in Toronto which runs as high as 40 percent” (“Toronto School” par 1). On top of launching the black-focused school, other initiatives have been taken into consideration: launching an action plan to help all black students do better, starting three pilot programs in regular schools where subjects would be taught from an Africentric perspective, and working with York University and community agencies to establish a centre of research on how to close the learning gap between black children and their peers of other backgrounds (“Board Okays” par 26-28).
The insistence on a differing ‘Africentric’ curriculum and teachers, demonstrates the creators desire for more control. They are unhappy with the curriculum that the government has chosen for them, and therefore, want to add to it or create their own. This reasoning for a school is really not that oppositional from the perspective of faith-based schools. From my experience in a private Christian school, our curriculum was not that much different than that of my friends in a public school. “The curriculum in different Christian schools can vary wildly. For example, some Christian schools will teach a Creationist viewpoint of origins; others might teach children about dinosaurs and Darwin while emphasizing the rule of God” (“Christian Private Schools” par 6). We also had the opportunity to pray in school and attend chapel weekly. How is this any different than what occurs in the already funded Catholic School System? There may be other more extreme differences of curriculum in other faith-based schools, but there still remain elements of the same basic curriculum.
Each province is able to make their own decision on whether or not to provide funding for faith-based schools; it is certain that some people in Toronto would agree with my point of view that Ontario should follow the example of British Columbia: “whether Catholic, Jewish, evangelical Christian, Muslim, Sikh -- even a Mormon offshoot practicing polygamy -- all groups with schools in B.C. have the right to partial government funding to promote their own religious, cultural, philosophical or pedagogical views in the classroom… B.C. governments have long held that such funding is in keeping with the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. The rules are simple: Schools may not teach racial or ethnic superiority, religious intolerance or violence, and they must deliver the B.C. curriculum if they want funding. (“Faith-Based Schools” par 2-4).
In 2007, politician John Tory took a stand for faith-based school funding: “a Conservative government would move to provide public funding for Ontario's private Islamic, Jewish, Christian and Hindu schools if elected this fall” (“Tory Vows” par 1). However, hardly any other politicians of the time agreed with him: Liberal Premier Dalton McGuinty, a staunch supporter of the Catholic system, was against that – as was NDP Leader Howard Hampton. Green Leader Frank de Jong would end all funding of religious schools and have one secular public system with mandatory world religion classes to promote tolerance (“Voters Divided” par 5). The opposing view is due to the high cost of funding and the possible repercussions that if one school can slightly change its curriculum, why can’t other schools do the same?
In the end, the argument over whether or not faith-based schools should be government funded ultimately funnels down to the issue of private versus public schooling. The differences between these two entities are not that widespread. A public school means that anyone can attend this school because it is their fundamental right as a Canadian citizen to receive a secondary education; whereas in a private school, the school board has the right to refuse a student from attending. The announced black-focused school will be public, in that any person of differing ethnicity can attend, but they will have to cooperate with the differing curriculum and possible teaching styles. In a faith-based school privatizing would make perfect sense, only those that believe in the religion would be able to attend; and if they were to be made public, it would enable others to cause possible disruption. For example, speaking from personal experience, my school had an interview process before admission. In this interview, my parents and I had to sign a paper saying that we belong to a church and that I will not engage in inappropriate behaviour (i.e.: drugs or alcohol abuse, violence); if my family left the church or if I betrayed my commitment to not engage in set behaviour, I could be expelled. To many, this is a definite “con” towards the private faith-based schooling. But could not the same problem occur in the black-focused school? What would happen if a white person were to come into the school and not comply with the ‘Africentric’ curriculum and style?
Although there has been much talk about the upcoming school since January 2008, in recent news concerning the Toronto black-focused school, it is not likely to open in September 2009 due to the underwhelming response of parents during a recent meeting. Also furthering this dubious outlook is the lack of student enrollment: as of January 2009, only fifteen students had enrolled (“Board Tight-Lipped” par 2). In regards to the fight for faith-based schools, John Tory did not defeat Dalton McGuinty in October 2007, and therefore, was unable to implement his promise of funding. John Tory recently stated that the “book is closed” (“Book Closed” par 1) on the topic of faith-based school funding due to his continual losses. Conclusively, neither of these arguments have a definite ending or a probable solution to the concerns of fairness and equality at hand.
Works Cited:
“Black-Focused School Advocates Push Government For Funding” CityNews 7 February, 2008
http://www.citynews.ca/news/news_19388.aspx
“Board okays black-focused school” The Star 30 January, 2008
http://www.thestar.com/News/article/298714
“Board tight-lipped about black-focused school numbers” Toronto Sun 7 January, 2009
http://www.torontosun.com/news/torontoandgta/2009/01/07/7949191.html
‘Book closed’ on faith-based school funding The Peterborough Examiner 2007
http://thepeterboroughexaminer.com/ArticleDisplay.aspx?e=1411464
“Christian Private Schools” Our Kids Publications Ltd
http://www.ourkids.net/christian-schools.php
“Faith-based schools” Vancouver Sun 22 September, 2007
http://www2.canada.com/vancouversun/news/story.html?id=0fc3f29a-d131-47c5-be51-4648344fcb88
“Toronto school board approves black-focused school” MacLeans 30 January, 2008
http://www.macleans.ca/education/universities/article.jsp?content=20080130_100311_5584
“Tory vows to study public funding for Ont. faith-based schools” CBC News 23 July, 2007
http://www.cbc.ca/canada/toronto/story/2007/07/23/ot-religious-schools-070723.html
“Voters divided on faith-based school funding” The Star 17 September 2007
http://www.thestar.com/OntarioElection/article/256568
ALSO... if you want to check out some clips regarding this debate check out these YouTube links:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bzX2fVqMz0Q&feature=channel
(this link presents both a "pro" and "con" look at private faith-based school funding)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zzXUvDJ3u10&feature=related
(this link is quite long, but definitely worth a listen if you're interested in this debate/discussion)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wdvjUEDtKAU&feature=related
(this link presents the debate around the Toronto black-focused school specifically)